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Review

"Those who haven't read any of the novels in the Women's Murder Club series are cheating themselves." (BookReporter.com )

"I can't believe how good Patterson is, whether he's doing a Washington police yarn or traveling a different road with a female narrator. He is always on the mark. I have never begun a Patterson book and been able to put it down." (USA TodayLarry King )

"Patterson and Paetro are at their best here, weaving a number of plots together to create a novel that dips and flows across genre lines.... A series that shows no signs of fatigue or flagging." (BookReporter.com )

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The most personal

A young mother and her infant child are ruthlessly gunned down while returning to their car in the garage of a shopping mall. There are no witnesses, and Detective Lindsay Boxer is left with only one shred of evidence: a cryptic message scrawled across the windshield in bloodred lipstick.

The most dangerous

The same night, the wife of A-list actor Marcus Dowling is woken by a cat burglar who is about to steal millions of dollars' worth of precious jewels. In just seconds there is a nearly empty safe, a lifeless body, and another mystery that throws San Francisco into hysteria.

The most exciting Women's Murder Club novel ever

Lindsay spends every waking hour working with her partner, Rich--and her desire for him threatens to tear apart both her engagement and the Women's Murder Club. Before Lindsay and her friends can piece together either case, one of the killers forces Lindsay to put her own life on the line--but is it enough to save the city? With unparalleled danger and explosive action, The 9th Judgment is James Patterson at his compelling, unstoppable best!

This series still manages to keep me faithful, a great filler when squeezed for time. I am not surprised it is still going strong after 9 novels, the short chapters and fairly captivating police cases are populated with smart, brave, tough and vulnerable characters. A stress illuminator after a hard day, an easy, light and fast read you can zip through in no time.

The story has the Club members focusing on two main events in a style we are familiar with. Mr. Patterson leads his readers into scenarios that are brutal but nevertheless intriguing.

In the first event: Lindsay is sent to investigate a case of a serial killer named "lipstick killer", a psycho who targets mothers and their babies and leaves messages at the crime scenes. In the second event: she juggles a case involving a cat burglar named "Hello Kitty" who robs rich women of their jewellery while they entertain friends at their home. All the while, Lindsay's saga continues both professionally and personally......

The story focuses mainly on Lindsay although the other members of the "Club" do play some of the critical roles they are known for in this series. On the down side, the plot follows the same tempo as the previous books, another story that is farfetched and quite predictable. Although the writing style is rather basic and choppy it is all the same entertaining.

From the cover of The 9th Judgment (The Women's Murder Club): The Women's Murder Club hunts a killer with a motto: Women and children first! If that doesn't grab you, all you have to do is read the first chapter to become thoroughly hooked on this heavy-hitting action-thriller.

Chapter one opens with the wife of popular movie star Marcus Dowling being murdered in what appears to be a cat burglary. The finger points to Hello Kitty, a burglar who has been robbing other wealthy people under similar circumstances.

Chapter two starts with a ruthless killer following a young mother and her infant son to a parking garage and shooting them in cold blood. The finger points nowhere in this case because the only clue is a cryptic message scrawled across a windshield in blood red lipstick.

Our main protagonist, Detective Lindsay Boxer of SFPD, is assigned to manage both the "Hello Kitty" and the "Lipstick Killer" cases. She wants to personally handle the child-killer case because she hates child-killers with a passion. She knows the media will make more of the Dowling case because of their prestige, so fears the department will put more manpower on the latter... And sure enough, Lieutenant Jacobi pulls her from the one she wants while giving her and her partner Rich Conklin the Dowling case.

The Lipstick Killer strikes again, resulting in San Francisco residents becoming increasingly incensed and frightened...resulting in the complexities of both cases pulling Lindsay back in.

Even though Lindsay's Women's Murder Club friends, Claire, Cindy and Yuki lend their own brand of charm and personality to The 9th Judgment (The Women's Murder Club) as in others, Lindsay is front and center in this one. She's in her element: strong, smart, independent, capable...beautiful (and need I mention sexy?).

This is a fast-paced book that kept me turning pages faster than the killer's speeding bullets. The excitement was practically nonstop, so I couldn't quit reading... OMG, when the killer has Lindsay at his mercy on the streets of San Francisco, the things he makes her do are horrendous. I was holding my breath, waiting for her to take a bullet any second... It was breathtakingly realistic.

Even though my emotions reached all-time highs that quickly plummeted to the depths of despair, the story flowed so smoothly that I recovered quickly. What a ride!

Patterson and Paetro weave the lives of the burglar, the killer and the actor into the plot with dexterity, all the while managing the police departmental politics and Lindsay's friends with realism and compassion. The cat burglar is a surprise to the police and is a very empathetic character with an interesting life that adds more flavor to this increasingly "tasty" book.

Just who is the cat burglar? What's s/he running from? Why does s/he rob? Why help the police? And who is the Lipstick Killer? How does the killer relate to the cat burglar? Who really killed the actor's wife?

As usual in these mysteries, Lindsay Boxer's love life is in the balance but she seems to be happily engaged to her Joe. Then why does she have a lingering attraction for her sexy partner? Who has her cap set for her partner? And how does Joe's life become threatened?

Never fear, these master wordsmiths answer those questions and more before the surprising, yet satisfying climax of this blockbuster.

I said it before and I'll say it again: Patterson and Paetro are dynamite together! I've read all the books in this series and the six co-authored with Paetro are my favorites... And now The 9th Judgment (The Women's Murder Club) is my all-time favorite.

ENDNOTE: There are many action scenes in this phenomenal book, but if I were a movie producer the street scene where the killer is "herding" Lindsay through the streets by remote control would be all the incentive I needed to grab this one up for a thriller movie. I can just see some lovely A-list actress (Sandra Bullock? Nicole Kidman?) in the role of Lindsay Boxer...and oh, what opportunities for the supporting roles of Claire, Cindy and Yuki!

Reviewed by Betty Dravis, June 27, 2010Author of "Dream Reachers" (with Chase Von) and other booksRead more ›

The book starts out with three seemingly unrelated crimes. We get to see Detective Lindsay Boxer, as well as the rest of the Women's Murder Club, interact and help solve these crimes. This book really goes to show you how small the world really is. All of the key players are present and accounted for; however I found that this installment seemed to be lacking in the "Women's Murder Club" details, and seemed to focus more on following Lindsay around as she tries to solve these crimes with her partner, Rich Conklin.The plot was fast paced and engaging. The chapters were short and to the point. They jumped from one case to the next and back again rapidly, however you are kept up to speed and can follow along easily. I enjoyed the scenes where we saw more interaction between the 4 women.I am finding that I enjoy the Women's Murder Club series more so than the others that Patterson has written. I really like the personalities of the 4 women, and think they all play off of one another quite well. However, courtesy of the TV show, the only thing that I am having an issue with now is picturing Lindsay with blonde hair.All in all, this is definitely one of the better books in the series, and it is well worth the read. The only disclaimer I'll mention is some might find the murders particularly gruesome as they are aimed at, as the tagline says, "women and children first".

9th in Patterson's Women's Murder Club series, this book satisfies one's craving for a crime drama just as did the preceding 8 entries. In 9th, we return to the lives of Linsday Boxer and her 3 friends as she and her partner investigate two separate but related serial crimes. The first, a cat burglar who breaks into homes of the wealthy while they are entertaining in their own homes, and second, a serial murder who is targeting and shooting women and their young children at point blank range. As always, Patterson provides nonstop excitement as Boxer and her friends race against the clock to solve the crimes before any more innocents are affected.

I find Patterson's books ideal for summer reading. They are easy and quick to read; perfect for camping or an afternoon at the beach. This latest fails to disappoint I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good thriller.